PIRKER, VICTOR JOHN

Name: Victor John Pirker
Rank/Branch: E4/US Marine Corps
Unit: HMM 362, MAG 36
Date of Birth: 27 June 1940
Home City of Record: Trout Creek MT
Date of Loss: 22 November 1965
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 151605N 1085022E (BT720060)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: UH34D
Refno: 0195

Other Personnel In Incident: Thomas E. Douglas; Richard A. Miller; Francis
E. Visconti (all missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2020.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On November 22, 1965, Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot of a
UH34D helicopter flying with other aircraft on a combat mission in South
Vietnam. Bad weather forced Visconti's aircraft out to sea about halfway
between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, and he was separated from the rest of the
group.

Also onboard the aircraft were Capt. Richard A. Miller, Cpl. Thomas E.
Douglas, and Cpl. Victor J. Pirker, all from the same unit. The helicopter
went down and all four Marines were classified Missing in Action. The
casualty is listed as battle related, which means the aircraft was probably
hit by enemy fire. The U.S. believes that the Vietnamese could account for
the four men.

There has been no word of any of the crew of that ill-fated chopper since
that day. The Vietnamese have denied any knowledge of them.

Evidence mounts that Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia. There have
been hundreds of eye-witnesses who have said they personally saw them. It is
not known whether any of the crew of the UH34 helicopter survived and are
among those said to be alive and still held prisoner, but someone's brother,
son, husband, or father is alive. We owe them our very best effort to bring
them home.

Richard A. Miller and Francis E. Visconti were promoted to the rank of
Major, Thomas E. Douglas and to the rank of Staff Sergeant during the period
they were maintained missing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001UA8EAM

SSGT VICTOR JOHN PIRKER

Return to Service Member Profiles

On November 22, 1965, a UH-34D Choctaw (bureau number 147180) carrying four crew members participated in a troop lift of Marines into Trach Tru, a South Vietnamese outpost south of Quang Ngai. On the return trip, heavy enemy fire and declining weather caused hazardous flying conditions. The helicopter flew over water along the shore to avoid enemy ground fire, and the flight was eventually diverted to Chu Lai. The Choctaw made routine radio contact when it was nearing Chu Lai, in the vicinity of (GC) 49P BT 720 060, but was not heard from again after that check-in. Intensive searches failed to find a crash site or any crew members.

Corporal Victor John Pirker, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Montana, served with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was a crew member aboard the Choctaw when it disappeared on November 22, 1965, and his remains were unable to be recovered. After the incident, the Marine Corps promoted Cpl Pirker to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt). Today, Staff Sergeant Pirker is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.